Miami Dolphins Have No GM or HC Present at the Senior Bowl: Big Deal or No Deal?

By Danny Williams

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

With Senior Bowl week going on in Mobile, Ala., the Miami Dolphinscurrently lack the presence of a GM and HC at the event. The Dolphins have yet to hire a GM, and HC Joe Philbin is staying in Miami to get to know his new coaches, linebackers coach Mark Duffner and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Is the lack of representation at this major scouting opportunity a big deal or no deal?

Could it be beneficial for Philbin to attend the Senior Bowl practices with his new coaches to sit and evaluate players in real time to get a feel for each other and find out what types of players they fancy?

Probably, but getting to know his new coaches (Lazor more specifically as he will be running the offense), evaluating the current Dolphins’ personnel and deciding what pieces fit and what pieces need to be added to make Lazor’s system run smoothly is more important.

What’s more, the Dolphins’ coaches have access to all the tape from the Senior Bowl practices which gives coaches the luxury of being able to hear and see how well the prospects respond to direction and coaching as well as how they perform physically.

The GM not being hired yet? The man who will be hired is likely in Alabama right now watching the prospects with his current respective team. Not only that, but the Dolphins have assistant GM Brian Gaine on the scene with the entire scouting department.

The Dolphins could actually benefit from taking longer to hire a GM as the new guy will bring a plethora of notes from his old team that the Dolphins’ scouting department would be wise to compare to their own, giving the team multiple perspectives on prospects.

The Dolphins cannot drag out the process too long, though, as the new GM will need as much time as possible to get to know Philbin and his coaching staff to know what types of players Philbin covets. Also, depending on who you ask, indecision may have cost the Dolphins their GM when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scooped up Dolphins GM candidate Jason Licht to fill their open GM position.

The scouting of these college players will get done. With the Scouting Combine and pro days still to come — which will feature over 100 underclassmen who don’t exactly qualify for the Senior Bowl — and tape readily available, the Dolphins will have plenty of opportunities to scout the incoming draft class. The lack of a GM and HC at the Senior Bowl is — drum roll please — no deal.